The Other Side
by The Great Blond Balrog Slayer
Summary: Post COE. Every time Jack dies, he ends up on the other side. Even if it is only for a few minutes, wouldn't there be someone there waiting for him each time? Janto and Jack/Universe, but mainly Janto. Read and Review!
1. Chapter 1

He was dead. He knew that much, he had after all just been poisoned by the 456. He just didn't know where he was.

It was dark, so very dark. But the darkness wasn't what bothered Ianto, what bothered him was that he was alone. He tried to look around, but he couldn't seen anything in the nothingness surrounding him.

"Help! Please! Jack? Someone? Is there anyone there?" He was yelling, screaming at the darkness, but there was no reply. He started to cry. He was so alone, and he missed Jack. He knew it was silly, but he was so mad at himself for dying. He had left Jack all alone again. He was no different from all the rest of Jack's lovers.

He knew Jack had promised he would never forget him, but he still feared he would. God, what if he was here in the pit of darkness forever? His thought were streaming all over the place, there was no proper train of thought, he couldn't think straight. He just wanted to see Jack one last time.

But wait, if he had died, maybe Jack had to! Maybe he would see Jack! It was such a small glimmer of hope, but it was hope nonetheless. Maybe just maybe-

"Ianto?" a voice was shouting in the dark. "Ianto!" it called again.

Ianto's heart leaped. "Jack! Is that you? Please Jack! I'm here!"

There was silence for a moment, and Ianto would have died again if he could have. He closed his eyes even though it made no difference and a single tear trickled down his cheek.

But then, the voice came again, closer this time "Ianto! Ianto, it's me! It's Jack!"

"Jack! Over here, I'm over here! Jack where are you?" Ianto yelled, standing up. His knees trembled, he did not know if this was really Jack or just some sick joke being played on him in the world of the dead.

"Ianto, stay where you are, I'm coming to you. Keep talking!" Ianto figured that Jack, or whoever it was would use the sound of his voice to find him. If it wasn't Jack, what harm could whoever it was do to him? He was after all dead already.

"Erm" Ianto didn't really know what to say, maybe if he recited the periodic table of elements, yes that would do it. "Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium, Beranium-"

"Really Ianto? The bloody periodic table of elements? You would know them all... I'm nearly to you, just keep going!" Ianto rolled his eyes.

"Of course I know them, I do know everything Jack! Well, almost everything. Don't tell Gwen I said that when you... When you get back. She'll never stop going on about it." Ianto was struggling to reconcile that even if it was Jack, that he wouldn't be with him for long and would eventually have to return to the world of the living. Ianto had always appreciated that until now, now that he was stuck on the other side. God that did sound ominous.

"Ianto? I think I'm almost to you." Jack's voice sounded much closer, merely yards away.

Ianto's heart started racing, it was practically ''naught to 60 as those blokes on Top Gear would say'. "Jack! Jack I'm here!"

Ianto turned his head to where he thought-no, knew where Jack was. He was certain it was Jack now, he could tell. Hell, he could almost smell him.


	2. Chapter 2

Ianto now knew it had to be Jack, he had this churning feeling in his stomach he only got when Jack was around.

Ianto patiently waited for Jack to get to him, when a horrid thought struck him. "Jack?"

"Yeah Yan?" Jack replied, hint of worry for the Welshman lacing his voice. When Ianto didn't reply, Jack became rather worried. "Yan? What is it?"

Panic gripped him. What if Ianto wasn't there anymore? What if he had merely been a figment of Jack's imagination. Or worse yet, what if he was real but Jack was being pulled back to the land of the living.

"Ianto? Ianto! Are you still there? Please don't leave me!" Jack did know that it was him that would eventually do the leaving of this dark and empty place. But that wasn't what he meant.

He wanted Ianto to come back with him. He wanted Ianto to be alive. He wanted to spend the rest of his immortality with that boy.

"I..." Jack's heart raced at the sound of that voice. It was Ianto's. "I'm still here Jack." Ianto sounded upset about something, well as upset as you can get about something other than being dead.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Jack demanded sounding absolutely concerned.

"Jack..." Ianto started, but then stopped as if there was something so terribly and utterly wrong. "Jack, you're voice. It's right in front of me. I should be able to see you. I can't... I can't see you! Why can't I see you Jack!"


	3. Chapter 3

If you could die again while being dead, Jack would have done so just then. What was the point of being able to be with someone you loved after you both had died, even if in your case only one of you stayed dead) if you couldn't see or feel the other?

Jack wasn't a religious person. He'd seen to much death and horror and destruction in his 100 odd years of life for something like that. But even so, he felt like this was some sort of giant cosmic joke.

As if the universe had said, "Hey, listen, we know you two are dead and all. But hey! You can meet after death! Oh, and by the way, you can't see or touch each other. Have fun!"

Jack wanted to scream just then, and nearly did so until Ianto spoke again.

"Jack." His voice was very quiet, and sounded almost completely deflated.

"I'm still here Yan, what is it?" Jack asked tiredly.

"That's just it Jack. You're still here." Ianto said dully.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Jack wondered aloud.

If Ianto could have rolled his eyes he would have. Actually he did, but he didn't thing that really counted if the person you're rolling you're eyes at could not infact see you.

"Of course it's a good thing! But... How much longer do we have?" Jack tried to say something reassuring, but Ianto cut him off.

"What if you don't come back?"

**AN: **Hello fine readers! I don't normally leave Author Notes but here goes; I know these chapters have been really short lately but I promise they will get longer! However, as long as they continue being short they will be updated fairly quickly! So, yeah, keep reading! And reviewing, reviews are good because not only do they make me feel better, they also make me feel REALLY guilty about not updating!


	4. Chapter 4

Jack didn't know what to say. How should he respond to that? Should he reassure Ianto, or would that be just a bunch of bollocks?

"Yan. Listen to me." Jack stated, wanting to be absolutely sure that he had Ianto's full and undivided attention.

"I'm listening Jack." Ianto murmured.

"Hey! What are we?" Jack demanded in a very drill sergeant tone.

"Erm, family?" Ianto asked, unsure of what Jack was trying to say.

"What? No, we're... Um, well, what are we Yan?" Ianto sighed.

"Two people, male (at least on my behalf, not to sure 'bout you)"- Jack gave an exasperated sigh at that and was about to say something, but Ianto kept going on.

"We are two dead people. Two dead people that shouldn't technically be together-" Jack knew, that if he could see Ianto's face just then, his eyes would be gleaming with joy."- two people given a chance again, even if it is only for a short while!"

Ianto's voice had a hint of that "Ah-ha!" moment that The Doctor got in his own voice whenever he worked out some great mystery.

"Well, if you want me that bad- Ow!" Ianto had hit him.

"You, Jack Bloody Harkness are the only person in a world who would turn this conversation around so you would end up with a bloody shag!" Ianto was yelling now.

Jack's mouth was wide open, he was in shock. Ianto had hit him! He ws so happy! No, this wasn't some kind of sick fetish the Captain had just come up with! Ianto had hit him, he had touched him.

"Ian-" Jack tried to say something but Ianto wouldn't have it.

"You are the only person in the world-no, the bloody universe who would say that! First off, I'm fairly sure that's some form of Necrophilia! And B, wait no second, is that if we can't touch each other or see each other what makes you think we could shag each other!" Ianto stopped now, waiting for Jack's response.

But nothing came. Not a sound, nor word, nor even a breath. Ianto wanted to scream for Jack, he wanted to shout for him. He wanted to call his name until his voice went hoarse.

But he knew it wouldn't make a difference. So he waited, and waited. Ianto would keep on waiting because he had to. Because if Jack didn't come back, what was there to hope for or wait for in this endless abyss of darkness surrounding him?

**AN: There you go, a new chapter! The more reviews you leave, I hate to say it, but the guiltier I'll feel for not updating. I'll still update and try to do it as fast as I can, but keep in mind I have a ton of school work to keep up with. Have a nice week :D**


	5. Chapter 5

Jack awoke, the same as always, with a gasp.

-?-

Ianto was still waiting, he would keep waiting. He knew that Jack would die again.

That man couldn't _stay _alive. He would eventually piss someone off and die.

Ianto both hated and loved this. He hated it because Jack had to die. But at the same time, he would see him again! It would mean a respite from this long and drawn out sentence of eternal darkness.

-?-

If Ianto had to describe where he was, he would simply say it was dark.

That was, after all exactly what this place was. It was pure darkness, no not the kind that can be extinguished by merely turning on a light. It was the type of darkness that creeps into you, it isn't just there-around you, and it's inside you.

At first it's scary as hell, but then you just kind of give into it. It was still there, but it was the only other presence besides yourself that there was. This provided an escape from complete and utter loneliness. His only companion was the dark now.

If Ianto truly and properly thought about it, the darkness had always been his companion. All throughout his life, there had been so few people that understood him. Sure, there were his friends like Gwen, who thought they understood him but they didn't. Not really.

But those few people that did always seemed to leave him in the end. Lisa had died, then Tosh after her. And then there was Owen, he wasn't sure what to think of Owen. Finally, Jack. It sound strange to say it, but Ianto felt like Jack understood him more than anyone else ever had and infinitely less at the same time.

He couldn't explain it, it just sort of was. It didn't matter however many people had understood him, they were all dead now. Hell, he was dead now. Well, they weren't all dead. Jack was still alive, no telling for how long, but still alive.

-?-

Ianto couldn't feel anything. He didn't know how he was, physically, he just was. He felt as if he had a physical body, but if he tried to touch himself he couldn't. There seemed to be nothing there.

There wasn't any wind in this place, nor heat or cold. It was simply a void of darkness, and of course, Ianto.

-?-

Ianto didn't know how long he had been waiting. He felt like he had been waiting his whole life, only to keep waiting in his afterlife. But it was ok, because he was waiting for Jack. Ianto would wait an eternity for Jack if he had to.

Once, on a night where it was just him and Jack monitoring the hub, Jack had told him a story about a man he had met once, a man who was waiting for a woman. He had been waiting for her for nearly 2,000 years. Jack seemed to have believed the man's story. He had even come back to visit the man over the years.

Jack had said that the man didn't age, but he had told Jack that if he had gotten hurt, he wouldn't heal. Ianto had, at first, thought of Owen when Jack told him this. But, Ianto severely doubted Owen had the patience to wait for 2,000 years for anyone, he would have found another way, maybe not a good way, but a way to get her back.

Once Jack had finished the story, they had both shared a significant glance with each other. This glance may have been awkward had anyone else been in the hub, but it was just the two of them. This look said that 'I would wait forever for you' it had been an unspoken promise as cliché as that sounds. But Ianto intended to keep his side of that deal.


	6. Chapter 6

Some people, when they're bored, watch movies in their head. Ianto Jones was not one of those people. He was very bored.

There's only a certain amount of time one can stare into complete darkness, and only a certain amount of time that darkness remains frightening. After a while, when absolutely nothing happens in the said scary darkness, it loses its scariness.

So, Ianto was sitting (or at least he thought he was sitting, he wasn't quite sure) on something, or nothing, in complete and utter darkness. Bored to death, well, sort of he was as bored to death as you can be whilst being dead.

He was dead, there was no denying it. Anyone else might be panicking, and Ianto would be lying if he told you he hadn't panicked, but he was sort of used to it by now. It's like when your pet dies; at first you're shocked and sad, but after a few months you get over it and maybe get a new pet or maybe not.

Well, Ianto certainly couldn't get a new life, but it did feel like it had been months wherever he was. Ianto didn't know what to do. Ianto wasn't the sort of person who had to keep moving every second of the bloody day, but he did like to move about a bit.

In this pit of, well, nothingness there was nothing. There was nothing to do.

Except for counting sheep, no not real sheep. That'd be a sight, sheep running about in darkness. He wondered if he could actually hear the sheep, or if he only knew they were there due to the noises they mad and the occasional brush of wool against his leg.

That may not be the best thing; Ianto was allergic to wool… Would he still get an allergic reaction? He didn't think they had any epee pens around here. He was rambling now, he was bloody rambling. Maybe that's what being dead does to a person. He'd be counting sheep (the imaginary kind; best not risk a reaction), rambling, and waiting for Jack.

Ianto wasn't an idiot; he knew that Jack would eventually move on. But how could he if he was stuck here? Sure, there may be nothing else to move on to, but how was it fair to him if eventually Jack moves on and he's still stuck here waiting for Jack to come and see him again.

It's not like he'd be mad at Jack for seeing anyone else in-between, ok that was a lie. But he'd handle it when it came to that! He wasn't going to be one of those clingy exes.

This was such a weird situation. Even with all the stuff he'd seen at Torchwood in both Torchwood One and Three, this had to top it off.

Ianto started laughing. It was just laughter at first, slightly hysterical, but still just laughter. But the longer he thought about it, it would be him. Maybe this was his punishment for Lisa. Maybe the Universe just didn't bloody like him. The laughter was hysterical now, it was a hysterical barking sort of laughter.

It went on for, well, Ianto didn't know how long it went on for. Eventually, it turned into a sobbing sort of miserable laughter. That went on for ages it seemed.

Then, suddenly, out of the darkness a pair of arms wrapped themselves around Ianto.

A voice called out "Shh, it's alright, I'm here now. It's alright, breathe. Hush now."

**AN: I'll try to update again before the weekends over and once or twice over the week! Leave a review, they do help me especially if you give me ideas or constructive criticism. I will take any ideas into account and see if they'll work into the story. I will also try to respond to all reviews. Keep reading on fair readers.**


	7. Chapter 7

AN: This chapter takes place over a varying time frame. This is also the start of events leading up to the end of the previous chapter. Enjoy!

Jack woke, as always, with a gasp.

Gwen was sitting next to him, holding Ianto's body. Oh god, Ianto was dead. He had known it would happen one day, but he didn't expect it to be so soon.

He knew it wouldn't be too long before it happened, this was Torchwood after all. Hardly anyone seemed to make it past thirty on the team. Except for him. Jack had seen almost all of Torchwood 3 come and go. Some had left, and most had died, but in the end they were still gone.

Somehow, this ex-conman and the ex-police constable were all that was left of Torchwood now. Jack was determined to keep it that way. Gwen deserved a normal life after the hell that Torchwood had put her through. And Jack, Jack needed to get away, probably die again so he could see Ianto.

Torchwood 3 would cease to exist. They weren't wanted anymore; John Frobisher and nearly everyone else had proven it. It's not like the world would end or anything, he'd send a message to UNIT, they could take care of the Rift. And Cardiff, he would be leaving this city finally. Well, he'd probably get dragged back here one day, but hopefully not for a while yet.

Torchwood 2 and UNIT would still be around, Torchwood 4 might even pop up one day. But this was the end of 3, Jack would say his goodbyes to Gwen. He didn't want any loose ends floating around this miserable little planet.

He could catch a ride on some passing ship, maybe go to Barcelona, he'd heard it was nice this time of year and during this year. Yes, that would do it, he'd go far, far away. He'd run. He knew how to run extremely well, he had the best teacher one could possibly have had in running.

He'd keep running and he'd never stop. Because, if Ianto was gone, was else was there to tie him down to this wet and miserable rock?

-?-

Minutes passed into hours, then hours into days, then into blurry and combined months. All hope had been lost, he had tried. He had really tried, but he couldn't find anything worth it in the world. So, he had held true to his promise and left.

After spending so much time on one planet, except for his two adventures with the Doctor, he hadn't been anywhere else. The humans of the earth would argue that there was so much to see on the planet, but he had seen it all. How could one tiny planet compare with the glory of the universe? So, Jack left.

He didn't have any luggage, just him, his vortex manipulator and his coat. He never did need anything else. The only problem, at the time, was that he was still stuck on the same time-line. His vortex manipulator was still fried, thanks to the wonderful yet bloody awful Doctor. He might even have to wait until the first time travel device would be invented. God, he'd wished he'd paid more attention in school… But, still, even with a primitive time travel device he was just as likely to get stuck somewhere in the past. He'd have to avoid himself and that would be very difficult.

Now that Jack thought about it, he didn't think the universe could cope with two of him prancing around it at the same time. It would probably go into a seizure induced by an orgasm that never ended. Could the universe have an orgasm? He planned to test that out one day, but not today.

Today Captain Jack Harkness was going to die.


End file.
